Plans for a new 18-home estate in a Herefordshire village have finally been given the all-clear.

Outline permission to develop just over a hectare of what had been a “glebe” or church-owned farmland beyond Millstream Gardens, Eardisley south of Kington was granted in late 2021, though only after a planning appeal.

A revised “reserved matters” application with the details of the development, to include six affordable houses sold at 30 per cent off market value, was then put forward by Cotswold Oak in December and has now also been approved.

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The mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom houses, including a bungalow, “has been agreed as acceptable” with the council’s housing officer, the Evesham-based firm’s application said.

Access to the roughly triangular site will be via what is currently a turning head at the end of Millstream Gardens.

Eardisley parish council said it is working on a flood alleviation plan for the village, and considered it “essential for there to be a joined-up approach” to this issue – “illustrated very recently in January 2024 when residential properties in Millstream Gardens flooded”.

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There were no technical objections submitted to the plan, though five public objections were put forward, focussing on potential increased traffic, noise and flood risk.

Planning officer Adam Lewis was happy that the amended house designs “strike a balance between the historic context of the village and more recent developments such as Millstream Gardens” and “reflect tradition[al] proportions and detailing”.

The two- and three-bedroom affordable homes would “meet locally identified needs”, and “are to be allocated to those with a local connection to the parish of Eardisley in the first instance”, Mr Lewis confirmed.

With a floodwater attenuation pond planned for the lower corner of the site, the council’s drainage officers “have confirmed that the proposed arrangements are acceptable and will ensure that runoff rates are not increased”, he added.